Thread: Body Armor?

What are your thoughts? I know PPL that use IIIA soft armor but Level IIA plates or higher are needed against rifles and that means a Plate Carrier. What do you think?

I'd protect yourself against the largest caliber you think you'll get shot with, be it soft or hard armor. Seems like a simple answer to me.

I got both. A Level II for under the radar use and plates if its totally crazy.

If it comes to the point of going to battle and needing body armor then your probably screwed anyway. The mobility/weight issues that body armor present does not seem worth the slight chance youll need them. That weight would be better served carrying food, water, ammo etc which has a higher probability of saving your life. And try like heck (it censored the other word) to avoid any confrontations/E&E, but im a sneaky sneaky bubblegum ((bubblegum?)) so to each his own. And I guess it depends on the scenario we're talking about.

In the world of Risk Management there is a phrase "Low Probability, High Impact" or "The Alpha Beta Test". Lets use the Alpha Beta test.

Query: What is the worst outcome if one wears body armor?
Query: What is the worst outcome if one does not wear body armor?

+1 for BulletProofMe.

The oddsmakers telling you not to bother with body armor are neglecting the fact that your CCW is most likely not going to ever be used either. Prepping for worst-case scenarios isn't about extrapolating past trends to compute future probabilities. I'm not about to stop wearing my seat belt, despite driving for nearly 40 years without a serious accident.

For almost any handgun threat we're likely to face on the street, a Level II vest is sufficient. If a carload of gangbangers opens up on me with an AK, then I'm well and truly screwed anyway, since I can't go through life wearing Level IV plates.

My soft vest is extremely thin and comfortable, and I do wear it just for practice sometimes. For me Level II just makes sense, since the step up to IIIA only adds coverage for .357Sig and .44Mag, but would do nothing against 7.62X39.

Personal armor - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Kinda a 3-fold question on body armor:

I recently got a job as a security guard (and am very happy to have it), and was "promoted" you could say, to our company's patrol unit. running around my fair valley for a few weeks, and hearing stories from clients.. i'm kinda interested in putting a little extra fabric between me and any guy who sees a badge as a target more than a symbol:

1) comfort not being a factor, to cover the "average" a--hat toting a gun and looking to use it (as i'm just running around town, not raiding drug houses), should Level II be sufficient, or should I go for IIIA? (just realized chemist answered that one, lol)

2) Is there a local (medford/surrounding area) merchant selling said classes of armor?

3) and kinda the most important question is that "all-important" factor of "shelf-life" or more like "wear-life": is it a huge factor like a use-by date on milk and suddenly i'm wearing paper? or is it sorta like a car and proper maintenance gives you a life-long friend? (if so, what is the proper maintenance for long life?) (Guess I just need some proper care info now, lol)
(while 300-500 bucks is a small price to pay for my life, if i need to pay it every few months for a new vest it's gonna suck )

I'd go with IIIA
BulletProofME.com Body Armor / Bullet proof Vests has all the info you need

My "used" german police IIIA cost $200 and had never been removed from the storage case.

Educate yourself on it and take a look at craigslist, and other such sites.

Those used German vests do indeed look like a bargain!
I basically spent all the money, and got the thinnest, best-fitting Level II vest that I could find. It's a lot easier to conceal than the German surplus, and it covers the same area.
I just wish there were some practical daily-wear garment that was up to 7.62X39. I could see going from II to III, but not II to IIIA - the difference isn't worth it to me.

From what I know about polymer composites, the aging issue of a soft vest is a function of time, temperature, humidity, and flexing. The plies are especially vulnerable to delamination when flexed while hot & wet. Never, ever wash the panels in your vest - just sponge them off.

^well the only thing that comes close is Dragon Skin

Originally Posted by kenno

^well the only thing that comes close is Dragon Skin

Dragon skin was outlawed a few years ago by DOD, it was found out they were falsifiying test reports and independant tests showed it was not nearly as affective as reported.

Vest Guy in Salem area sells good soft armor and plate carriers. He's at all the big gun shows. Great pricing too. I've got one of his plate carriers with plates that are level 4....

isnt it true that some of the 7.62x25 Tokarev ammo (pre-ban) were able to penetrate the level IIA vests? just for safety sake I would have both IIA base under a shirt and a decent Plate Carrier with my SHTF gear attached to it...out here where everyone and their brother have a .30 caliber deer rifle; I would feel safer with a level 3 and 4 personal armor....I do have a K-pot if I need to use it....

Originally Posted by CamoDeafie

isnt it true that some of the 7.62x25 Tokarev ammo (pre-ban) were able to penetrate the level IIA vests? just for safety sake I would have both IIA base under a shirt and a decent Plate Carrier with my SHTF gear attached to it...out here where everyone and their brother have a .30 caliber deer rifle; I would feel safer with a level 3 and 4 personal armor....I do have a K-pot if I need to use it....

The 7.62X25 round isn't rated by NIJ test protocols, so who knows. Surely there are hot loads that penetrate Level II armor. But just to be clear, Level IIA is the lowest, Level II is better, Level IIIA is the next step up, and Level III is the lowest rating that's effective on some rifle rounds.

well I recall that there was a steel core armor piercing Tokarev cartridge made in China and Russia, but are banned from import.... though some DID make it to Stateside before the ban

Get a used Safariland IIIA with a plate carrier for cheap. Lot of them around.

Originally Posted by FarmerTed1971

Get a used Safariland IIIA with a plate carrier for cheap. Lot of them around.

how cheap we talking?
I'm using my dad's old Second Chance II armor with the little kevlar/metal plate...but have a MOLLE Plate carrier and am looking to get Plates on the cheap......really cheap. lol.

Where did you get that info from? The actual source?

Originally Posted by knuckle Head

Dragon skin was outlawed a few years ago by DOD, it was found out they were falsifiying test reports and independant tests showed it was not nearly as affective as reported.

Do some research and educate yourself about body armor.